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Since asphalt pavement bleeding and raveling are significant threats to road safety, comfort, and service life, timely and accurate detection of them is desirable and cost-effective to develop pavement maintenance programs. Moreover, due to the fact that both of these distresses (i.e., raveling and bleeding) affect the texture of pavements, simultaneous classification of these distresses can provoke challenges. Thus, this study explores efficient texture analysis of 2D images for bleeding and raveling detection using tree-based ensemble methods. To this end, two scenarios of feature extraction are taken into account using Histogram Equalization (HE), Local Binary Pattern (LBP), and Gray-Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) techniques. Based on these two feature sets, four tree-based ensemble methods were evaluated for classifying the three classes of Bleeding, Raveling, and No-Bleeding & No-Raveling. The results confirmed that Feature Set B which derived from the integration of HE-GLCM and LBP-GLCM feature extraction provided the most favorable outcome, and gained the high performance of F1-Score ≅ 97 %. Finally, Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models were constructed using the collected dataset and compared to the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discogenic low back pain (LBP) is a significant clinical condition arising from degeneration of the intervertebral disc, a common yet complex cause of chronic pain, defined by fissuring in the annulus fibrosus resulting in vascularization of growing granulation tissue and growth of nociceptive nerve fibers along the laceration area. This paper delves into the anatomical and pathophysiological underpinnings of discogenic LBP, emphasizing the role of intervertebral disc degeneration in the onset of pain. The pathogenesis is multifactorial, involving processes like mitochondrial dysfunction, accumulation of advanced glycation end products, and pyroptosis, all contributing to disc degeneration and subsequent pain. Despite its prevalence, diagnosing discogenic LBP is challenging due to the overlapping symptoms with other forms of LBP and the absence of definitive diagnostic criteria. Current diagnostic approaches include clinical evaluations, imaging techniques, and the exploration of potential biomarkers. Treatment strategies range from conservative management, such as physical therapy and pharmacological interventions, to more invasive procedures such as spinal injections and surgery. Emerging therapies targeting molecular pathways involved in disc degeneration are under investigation and hold potential for future clinical application. This paper highlights the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach combining clinical, imaging, and molecular data to enhance the accuracy of diagnosis and the effectiveness of treatment for discogenic LBP, ultimately aiming to improve patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In poultry farming, the most important factor during their growth and production is for the birds to be free from any disease. Unmonitored and uncontrolled temperature and humidity within the cage can lead to reduced productivity and high rate of mortality. Diseases such as: avian influenza, Newcastle, fowl paralysis, semolina and so on may wipe up an entire farm in few minutes. This research used K- nearest neighbor (KNN) algorithm and developed a model to monitor such factors automatically. In the model, digital camera was deployed in the cage that records the behavior of the fowls. The model was trained on the normal behavior of a healthy/unhealthy fowl based on the clinical signs so that any abnormal sign reported immediately by the system. The experimental results show that the model can report the various diseases sign in poultry farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, there have been increasing attempts to apply computer vision technology to the coffee industry. However, most research has focused on classifying the quality or characteristics of the coffee beans. This paper explore relatively low-complexity computer vision algorithms that can evaluate the quality of crema through comparative index values of images taken after espresso extraction. Twelve types of coffee beans are prepared varying in variety, blend, and roast level, and four algorithms of two-dimensional discrete cosine transform, edge detection, clustering & variance and uniform rotational-invariant local binary pattern are applied to the espresso images of them. Through statistical analysis of the resulting images after applying the algorithms, it is examined whether they have the potential to serve as crema evaluation tools. As a result, the density of edge points obtained through the Canny edge detection algorithm is found to be useful in assessing the quality of the crema, regardless of the type of coffee beans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Face detection is a crucial aspect of computer vision and image processing, in order to enable the automatic detection and identification of human faces in video streams, face detection is an essential component of computer vision and image processing. Applications for facial recognition, video analytics, security systems, and surveillance all depend on it. Face identification techniques face many obstacles and issues, such as positional fluctuations, illumination changes, resolution and scale issues, facial emotions, and cosmetics. Robust algorithms are required for efficient face detection. This field looks at the feature extraction process using a variety of techniques. These consist of the center symmetric local binary patterns (CS_LBP) approach and the local binary patterns (LBP) method. The YouTube Face database provided the video frames that we used for our study. In order to train the convolutional neural network (CNN) to detect human faces in the video and draw a bounding box around them. The experimental results of the suggested approaches show that. The accuracy rate was 94% higher with the LBP techniques. However, the CS_LBP technique showed the best level of accuracy in both face detection and face rectangle recognition, with an accuracy rate of 95%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sciatica, a subtype of low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common clinical complaints in primary care which is characterized by pain that originates in the lower back or buttocks and radiates down one or both legs along the distribution of the sciatic nerve. It commonly results due to nerve root compression by a prolapsed lumbar disc. Sciatica affects both genders equally and has an annual incidence of 1-5%, most common in 30-65 years of age. The management of sciatica includes non-pharmacological, pharmacological and surgical approaches. Combining these management techniques can help in pain reduction and thereby can lead to an overall wellbeing of the individual. In this case report we present the case of a 52 year old male patient with lower back pain radiating to left lower limb who came to Department of Regimenal therapies, National Institute of Unani Medicine, Bengaluru. The patient had taken NSAIDs and other measures for pain management from last 6 months. Despite taking exhaustive measures, no significant improvement was seen. The symptoms have gotten worse over the past two months. After complete clinical examination and diagnosis, the patient underwent treatment for 4 weeks using integrative approach in the form of unani pharmacotherapy, coupled with regimenal therapy. Many objective parameters were used to evaluate the patient both before and after the intervention. The assessment parameters after the intervention reported a significant amelioration of the symptoms. Our study suggested that, management of sciatica with an integrative strategy can be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastrointestinal (GI) tract involvement affects up to 90% of Systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients. The presence of GI symptoms is assessed by the University of California, Los Angeles, and Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium Gastrointestinal Scale (UCLA SCTC GIT 2.0). Microbial translocation (MT) is reported in SSc patients consequently to increased intestinal permeability due to intestinal damage (ID) and dysbiosis. Aim of this study was to assess circulating levels of LBP and EndoCab IgM (markers of MT), IL-6 (marker of inflammation), I-FABP and Zonulin (markers of ID) in a cohort of SSc patients and healthy controls (HC). Moreover, we aimed to correlate these parameters with severity of GI symptoms. UCLA SCTC GIT 2.0 questionnaire was administered to 60 consecutive SSc patients. Markers of MT, inflammation and ID were evaluated in SSc patients and HC. SSc patients had higher median value of markers of MT, inflammation and ID than HC. The logistic regression analysis showed LBP as the only variable associated with an UCLA total score "moderate-to-very severe" [OR 1.001 (CI 95%: 1.001–1.002), p < 0.001]. The logistic regression analysis showed LBP [OR 1.002 (CI 95%: 1.001–1.003), p < 0.01] and disease duration [OR 1.242 (CI 95%: 1.023–1.506), p < 0.05] as variables associated with UCLA distension/bloating "moderate-to-very severe". The logistic regression analysis showed LBP as the only variable associated with UCLA diarrhea "moderate-to-very severe" [OR 1.002 (CI 95%: 1.001–1.003), p < 0.01]. SSc patients with dysregulation gut mucosal integrity expressed by high levels of MT and ID biomarkers had more severe GI symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Stretching exercises are important in both the prevention and treatment of nonspecific low back pain (NLBP). The aim of this trial was to determine whether an 8-week active hamstring stretching protocol combined with core stabilization and education regarding the maintenance of a neutral lumbar spine during activities could reduce NLBP and low back discomfort during prolonged sitting among young people. Methods: Participants (52 students aged 18–25) were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the Experimental group (the hamstring stretching group) and the Control group (only education). The intervention was conducted for 8 weeks. The primary outcome measures were pain intensity (VAS), low back discomfort (LBD), and functional disability (ODI). The secondary outcome measures were satisfaction with the intervention (GPE) and flexibility of the hamstring (SLR). Results: After the 8-week intervention in the E-group, results of VAS, ODI, and LBD were significantly lower comparing to baseline. In the C-group, no significant differences were observed. After the exercises program, there were differences between the E-group and C-group in VAS, LBD, GPE, and SLR tests (p < 0.05, p < 0.05, p < 0.05, and p < 0.0001, respectively). Conclusions: In conclusion, our study provides compelling evidence that an eight-week program of active hamstring stretching and core stabilization exercises can significantly reduce NLBP and musculoskeletal discomfort during prolonged sitting in young adults. These findings highlight the importance of targeted exercise interventions in managing and preventing NLBP, particularly among sedentary populations. Further research is warranted to confirm these findings and explore their applicability to broader populations and over extended periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since asphalt pavement bleeding and raveling are significant threats to road safety, comfort, and service life, timely and accurate detection of them is desirable and cost-effective to develop pavement maintenance programs. Moreover, due to the fact that both of these distresses (i.e., raveling and bleeding) affect the texture of pavements, simultaneous classification of these distresses can provoke challenges. Thus, this study explores efficient texture analysis of 2D images for bleeding and raveling detection using tree-based ensemble methods. To this end, two scenarios of feature extraction are taken into account using Histogram Equalization (HE), Local Binary Pattern (LBP), and Gray-Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) techniques. Based on these two feature sets, four tree-based ensemble methods were evaluated for classifying the three classes of Bleeding, Raveling, and No-Bleeding & No-Raveling. The results confirmed that Feature Set B which derived from the integration of HE-GLCM and LBP-GLCM feature extraction provided the most favorable outcome, and gained the high performance of F1-Score ≅ 97 %. Finally, Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models were constructed using the collected dataset and compared to the proposed method.

Abstract In the field of medical imaging, accurately classifying brain tumors remains a significant challenge because of the visual similarities among different tumor types. This research addresses the challenge of multiclass categorization by employing Support Vector Machine (SVM) as the core classification algorithm and analyzing its performance in conjunction with feature extraction techniques such as Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) and Local Binary Pattern (LBP), as well as the dimensionality reduction technique, Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The study utilizes a dataset sourced from Kaggle, comprising MRI images classified into four classes, with images captured from various anatomical planes. Initially, the SVM model alone attained an accuracy(acc_val) of 86.57% on unseen test data, establishing a baseline for performance. To enhance this, PCA was incorporated for dimensionality reduction, which improved the acc_val to 94.20%, demonstrating the effectiveness of reducing feature dimensionality in mitigating overfitting and enhancing model generalization. Further performance gains were realized by applying feature extraction techniques—HOG and LBP—in conjunction with SVM, resulting in an acc_val of 95.95%. The most substantial improvement was observed when combining SVM with both HOG, LBP, and PCA, achieving an impressive acc_val of 96.03%, along with an F1 score(F1_val) of 96.00%, precision(prec_val) of 96.02%, and recall(rec_val) of 96.03%. This approach will not only improves categorization performance but also improves efficacy of computation, making it a robust and effective method for multiclass brain tumor prediction.

COVID-19 has seriously affected normal life as well as public safety. It is extremely transmissible and has now infected millions of people worldwide. To obtain more image features of the lungs, Computed Tomography (CT) scans are widely used. However, manual examination of CT images for abnormal areas of COVID-19 disease can be time-consuming, and it is highly subjective to determine whether they are infected. To rapidly screen patients, Machine Learning (ML) can be used to determine whether patients have the disease. In this paper, a hybrid extraction technique is used to extract feature vectors from CT images, which is a mixture of a histogram of orientation gradients (HOG) extraction technique and a local binary pattern (LBP) extraction technique. In this experiment, 960 NON-COVID-19 and 960 COVID-19 were adopted to train the model, and 240 NON-COVID-19 and 240 COVID-19 were used to test the model. And the CT images were scaled to a uniform size. After obtaining the feature vectors using HOG and LBP feature extraction methods, The CT images were classified using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier optimised by Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO). In the performance evaluation of the presented classification model, the combination of the HOG feature extraction technique and the LBP feature extraction technique resulted in a substantial improvement in the classification effectiveness of the SVM. HOG_LBP PSO SVM improved Accuracy to 97.5%, Precision to 97.75%, Recall to 97.27%, Specificity to 97.25%, F1_score to 97.50%, and Mcc to 95.01%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objectives Low back pain (LBP) is an increasingly prevalent work-related condition that affects workers in manufacturing in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which often causes disability or additional problems when doing demanding physical duties. This study focused on the risk factors for LBP in the context of workers with LBP who work in the ready-made garment (RMG) factories. Methods and materials A cross-sectional study involved 385 RMG workers, all of whom were adults with ≥ 1 year of work job experience and who typically worked in a sitting position. We use surveys method for collecting data, and a standardized questionnaire covering sociodemographic, pain, work, associated effects, and activities, as well as risk factor-related variables, was used. To evaluate the associations among categorical variables and LBP, we used the chi-square test. To identify the variables that showed strong relationships with LBP, multivariable logistic regression analysis was also carried out. Results The participant’s age (mean ± SD) is 31.27 ± 6.94. One-hundred ninety-four of the 385 participants between the ages of 30–39 years (23.9%) suffered from LBP and statistically strongly significant (χ2 = 15.187, p = 25 kg/m2) (OR 10.72, 95% CI 2.16–53.5), work in an awkward position, stationary position for ling time, working beyond physical ability, incorrectly using body mechanics, repeated twisting and bending, continuously longtime sitting, and using ergonomically improper tools were found to be significantly associated with LBP. Conclusion The point prevalence of LBP among RMG workers is 41.6%. Only male gender is associated with the presence of LBP. This study showed that working in an awkward position, stationary position for a long time, incorrectly using body mechanics, repeated twisting, and bending had significant associations with LBP. Training programs that instruct proper weight-bearing skills should be encouraged by factories. The occurrence of LBP must also be reduced by regularly performing screening activities to detect it, with a special focus on married people, overweight or obese, and older-aged people.

Background: The main aim of this study is to analyze changes in the lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) level in blood serum over time and assess it as a potential risk factor for the development of SIRS, infectious and inflammatory complications, organ dysfunction and mortality in patients operated on colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: 90 CRC patients were divided into 2 groups: Group 1–50 patients operated on for CRC without acute bowel obstruction (ABO); Group 2–40 patients operated on for CRC with ABO. To determine LBP by ELISA method venous blood was taken 1 h before surgery and 72 h after it (3rd day). Results: LBP level on the 3rd day after surgery was lower in CRC patients with SIRS, postoperative complications, organ dysfunction and in dead patients. With an LBP value on the 3rd day after surgery being at ≤821.95 ng/mL, the risk of SIRS occurrence is 3.5 times higher, that of the postoperative complications is 5.2 times higher and death is 12.9 times higher than with its higher level (OR 3.5, CI 1.46–8.4; OR 5.2, CI 1.80–15.12; OR 12.9, CI 1.54–108.21, respectively). If the LBP value on the 3rd day after surgery is ≤ 700.15 ng/mL, the risk of organ dysfunctions is 13.5 times higher than with its higher level (OR 13.5, CI 3.536–51.54). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that in the patients with CRC, the LBP can be used as a predictive criterion for the development of SIRS, postoperative infectious and inflammatory complications, organ dysfunction, and mortality.

Retrieving similar images from a dataset of images is always challenging for researchers, and it becomes more challenging under critical conditions like illumination variation and different facial expressions. Every image comprises three types of content, color, shape, and texture. Texture content of the image plays a vital role in the image retrieval process. Many researchers have been working on the image retrieval problem and have proposed many local descriptors for the last two decades. This study gives a comparative analysis of existing local descriptors using different facial image datasets. In recent trends, researchers retrieve similar images using deep learning techniques. This paper also discussed some of the existing Deep learning methods for retrieving similar images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sarcopenia is related to disease severity in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients; however, its pathophysiology remains poorly known. We investigated the associations of biomarkers of intestinal leak with sarcopenia in various stages of CKD. We recruited 61–76-year-old male controls and patients with various stages of CKD (n = 36–57/group) for measuring plasma lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) and zonulin (markers of intestinal leak), handgrip strength (HGS), skeletal mass index (SMI), and gait speed (markers of sarcopenia), and short physical performance battery (SPPB; marker of physical capacity). CKD stages 4 and 5 were associated with lower HGS, SMI, gait speed, and cumulative SPPB scores and a higher sarcopenia prevalence than controls and patients with CKD stages 1 and 2 (all p < 0.05). CKD patients (stages 1 and 2) had elevated plasma zonulin and LBP when compared with CKD stages 4 and 5. Plasma zonulin and LBP exhibited significant correlations with renal function, HGS, gait speed, SPPB scores, and oxidative stress markers in CKD stages 4 and 5 (all p < 0.05). However, similar relations were not found in early CKD. Collectively, intestinal leak may be contributing to sarcopenia and physical disability in the advanced stages of CKD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this study is to analyze changes in the lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) level in blood serum over time and assess it as a potential risk factor for the development of SIRS, infectious and inflammatory complications, organ dysfunction and mortality in patients operated on colorectal cancer (CRC). 90 CRC patients were divided into 2 groups: Group 1–50 patients operated on for CRC without acute bowel obstruction (ABO); Group 2–40 patients operated on for CRC with ABO. To determine LBP by ELISA method venous blood was taken 1 h before surgery and 72 h after it (3rd day). LBP level on the 3rd day after surgery was lower in CRC patients with SIRS, postoperative complications, organ dysfunction and in dead patients. With an LBP value on the 3rd day after surgery being at ≤821.95 ng/mL, the risk of SIRS occurrence is 3.5 times higher, that of the postoperative complications is 5.2 times higher and death is 12.9 times higher than with its higher level (OR 3.5, CI 1.46–8.4; OR 5.2, CI 1.80–15.12; OR 12.9, CI 1.54–108.21, respectively). If the LBP value on the 3rd day after surgery is ≤ 700.15 ng/mL, the risk of organ dysfunctions is 13.5 times higher than with its higher level (OR 13.5, CI 3.536–51.54). This study demonstrated that in the patients with CRC, the LBP can be used as a predictive criterion for the development of SIRS, postoperative infectious and inflammatory complications, organ dysfunction, and mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Low back pain (LBP) is an increasingly prevalent work-related condition that affects workers in manufacturing in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which often causes disability or additional problems when doing demanding physical duties. This study focused on the risk factors for LBP in the context of workers with LBP who work in the ready-made garment (RMG) factories. Methods and materials: A cross-sectional study involved 385 RMG workers, all of whom were adults with ≥ 1 year of work job experience and who typically worked in a sitting position. We use surveys method for collecting data, and a standardized questionnaire covering sociodemographic, pain, work, associated effects, and activities, as well as risk factor-related variables, was used. To evaluate the associations among categorical variables and LBP, we used the chi-square test. To identify the variables that showed strong relationships with LBP, multivariable logistic regression analysis was also carried out. Results: The participant's age (mean ± SD) is 31.27 ± 6.94. One-hundred ninety-four of the 385 participants between the ages of 30–39 years (23.9%) suffered from LBP and statistically strongly significant (χ2 = 15.187, p < 0.05). BMI, employment pattern, and specific work experience are also strongly significant. Out of all risk factors, age 40 and above (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.53–17.78), overweight (BMI > = 25 kg/m2) (OR 10.72, 95% CI 2.16–53.5), work in an awkward position, stationary position for ling time, working beyond physical ability, incorrectly using body mechanics, repeated twisting and bending, continuously longtime sitting, and using ergonomically improper tools were found to be significantly associated with LBP. Conclusion: The point prevalence of LBP among RMG workers is 41.6%. Only male gender is associated with the presence of LBP. This study showed that working in an awkward position, stationary position for a long time, incorrectly using body mechanics, repeated twisting, and bending had significant associations with LBP. Training programs that instruct proper weight-bearing skills should be encouraged by factories. The occurrence of LBP must also be reduced by regularly performing screening activities to detect it, with a special focus on married people, overweight or obese, and older-aged people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lumbar disc hernia represents one of the most frequent neurosurgical pathologies, consisting of a posterior migration of the nucleus pulposus which protrudes through the surrounding protective connective tissue. The patient usually exhibits leg pain, paraesthesia or a variable degree of discomfort at the lower extremities, those clinical characteristics are correlated to the extent of nucleos pulposus protrusion. Regarding neuroimaging diagnosis, the gold standard of evaluation is Magnetic resonance imaging in different sequences which highlights a precise topography of the herniated disc. Currently, in a well-digitalized era, machine learning and deep learning algorithms are used to assess the sensibility of detecting a lumbar disc hernia, with promising results. In those cases requiring surgical intervention, besides the open lumbar microdiscectomy, a less invasive surgical approach regularly used in the medical practice is endoscopic lumbar discectomy, being limited to cases where a wide intraoperative perspective is not necessary. In the actual neurosurgical management, postoperative complications following lumbar disc hernia surgery are rare and accessible to manage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manipulation of the gut microbiome using live biotherapeutic products shows promise for clinical applications but remains challenging to achieve. Here, we induced dysbiosis in 56 healthy volunteers using antibiotics to test a synbiotic comprising the infant gut microbe, Bifidobacterium longum subspecies infantis (B. infantis), and human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). B. infantis engrafted in 76% of subjects in an HMO-dependent manner, reaching a relative abundance of up to 81%. Changes in microbiome composition and gut metabolites reflect altered recovery of engrafted subjects compared with controls. Engraftment associates with increases in lactate-consuming Veillonella, faster acetate recovery, and changes in indolelactate and p-cresol sulfate, metabolites that impact host inflammatory status. Furthermore, Veillonella co-cultured in vitro and in vivo with B. infantis and HMO converts lactate produced by B. infantis to propionate, an important mediator of host physiology. These results suggest that the synbiotic reproducibly and predictably modulates recovery of a dysbiotic microbiome.

ObjectivesMinimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (Mis-TLIF) and oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) are increasingly replacing traditional approaches. This study aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of OLIF and Mis-TLIF in treating single-level degenerative lumbar diseases.MethodsPatients with single-level degenerative lumbar diseases underwent either OLIF (30 patients) or Mis-TLIF (30 patients). Surgical data, including operation time, blood loss, postoperative drainage, and postoperative bed rest duration, were collected. Clinical outcomes were assessed using the Oswestry disability index, the visual analog scale scores for low back pain and leg pain, and Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores for daily ability, along with monitoring of complications.ResultsThe OLIF group showed significantly shorter operative times, less blood loss, reduced postoperative drainage, and shorter bed rest durations than the Mis-TLIF group. At the 1-month follow-up, OLIF patients also demonstrated significantly better clinical outcome scores than Mis-TLIF patients. No significant differences were observed between OLIF and Mis-TLIF patients before surgery and after 3 months. Furthermore, lumbar lordosis and disc height were significantly greater in the OLIF group at the final follow-up.ConclusionsBoth OLIF and Mis-TLIF achieved satisfactory and effective long-term clinical outcomes for single-level lumbar degenerative diseases. However, OLIF resulted in less tissue damage, reduced bleeding, better short-term clinical outcomes, and improved recovery of segmental lordosis compared to Mis-TLIF. Therefore, OLIF appears to be the preferable option over Mis-TLIF.

Shouyu He,1,&ast; Xiaowen Liu,2,&ast; Shenchang Luo,1 Haidong Li,1 Jikang Min,1 Qian Shi3 1Department of Spine Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, The First People’s Hospital of Huzhou, Huzhou University, Huzhou, 313000, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, 200003, People’s Republic of China; 3Key Laboratory for Translational Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital, The First People’s Hospital of Huzhou, Huzhou University, Huzhou, 313000, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Qian Shi, Key Laboratory for Translational Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital, The First People’s Hospital of Huzhou, Huzhou University, Huzhou, 313000, People’s Republic of China, Email 51359@zjhu.edu.cnBackground: Low back pain (LBP) is primarily caused by intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). Immune cells penetrating nucleus pulposus (NP) tissues may play an important role in generating IVDD and LBP.Methods: The clinical data from 100 cases of IVDD patients was initially analyzed retrospectively. Subsequently, peripheral blood and NP tissues from 41 IVDD patients were gathered for a validated investigation. Among them, ribosome-removed-RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed on 10 cases of NP tissues of specific classifications (VAS 3 and Pfirrmann 3 were used as the controls, while patients with VAS 6 and Pfirrmann 5 were used as the experimental group). Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified for the subsequent bioinformatics analysis. Further methods to confirm the underlying cause of discogenic LBP included mast cell immunohistochemistry (IHC), 12 cytokine detection, Western blot (WB), and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).Results: Discogenic LBP and IVDD severity are strongly associated, and immunological cell infiltration has been demonstrated to be a significant factor in LBP by bioanalytical research. Tryptase-positive mast cells were found to be significantly more abundant in the VAS 6 NP tissues of IVDD patients than in the VAS 3 NP tissues. It was initially demonstrated that IVDD and LBP were significantly impacted by hemokinin-1 (HK-1), the mast cell-related gene. Furthermore, blood levels of interleukin 12 p70 (IL-12P70) are noticeably elevated and strongly correlated with HK-1, indicating that HK-1 may be involved in the regulation of mast cell activity and IL-12P70 production.Conclusion: The severity of LBP was observed to be positively correlated with the IVDD Pfirrmann grading. Further research indicates that patients with IVDD may experience persistent low back pain due to HK-1 activation of mast cells and the release of the cytokine IL12P70. This work will offer new insights into the diagnosis and treatment of discogenic LBP.Keywords: IVDD, LBP, immune cell infiltration, mast cell, HK-1

The human intestine hosts a complex ecosystem of various microorganisms, collectively known as the gut microbiome, which significantly impacts human health. Disruptions in the gut microbiome are linked to various disorders, including gastrointestinal diseases, such as Clostridioides difficile infection and inflammatory bowel disease, as well as metabolic, neurological, oncologic conditions. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) and live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) have emerged as prospective therapeutic procedures to restore microbial and metabolic balance in the gut. This review assesses the latest advancements, challenges, and therapeutic efficacy of FMT and LBPs, highlighting the need for standardization, safety, and long-term evaluation to optimize their clinical application.

Background: Delirium Tremens (DT) is known to be a serious complication of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS). Neurotransmitter abnormalities, inflammation, and increased permeability are associated with the pathogenesis of AWS and DT. However, the biomarkers of these conditions are still poorly understood. Methods: In this work, biochemical, hematologic, inflammatory, and gut permeability biomarkers were investigated in the following three groups: healthy controls (n = 75), severe AWS patients with DT (n = 28), and mild/moderate AWS without DT (n = 97). Blood sampling was performed after resolution of the acute condition (on 5 ± 1 day after admission) to collect clinical information from patients and to investigate associations with clinical scales. Biomarker analysis was performed using automated analyzers and ELISA. Inflammatory biomarkers included the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR). Results: Among the biochemical biomarkers, only glucose, total cholesterol, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) changed significantly in the analyzed groups. A multiple regression analysis showed that age and ALT were independent predictors of the CIWA-Ar score. Hematologic biomarker analysis showed an increased white blood cell count, and the elevated size and greater size variability of red blood cells and platelets (MCV, RDWc, and PDWc) in two groups of patients. Gut permeability biomarkers (FABP2, LBP, and zonulin) did not change, but were associated with comorbid pathologies (alcohol liver disease and pancreatitis). The increase in inflammatory biomarkers (ESR and PLR) was more evident in AWS patients with DT. Cluster analysis confirmed the existence of a subgroup of patients with evidence of high inflammation, and such a subgroup was more frequent in DT patients. Conclusions: These findings contribute to the understanding of biomarker variability in AWS patients with and without DT and support the heterogeneity of patients by the level of inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cervical cancer is a significant concern for women, necessitating early detection and precise treatment. Conventional cytological methods often fall short in early diagnosis. The proposed innovative Heap Optimizer-based Self-Systematized Neural Fuzzy (HO-SsNF) method offers a viable solution. It utilizes HO-based segmentation, extracting features via Gray-Level Co-Occurrence Matrix (GLCM) and Local Binary Pattern (LBP). The proposed SsNF-based classifier achieves an impressive 99.6% accuracy in classifying cervical cancer cells, using the Herlev Pap Smear database. Comparative analyses underscore its superiority, establishing it as a valuable tool for precise cervical cancer detection. This algorithm has been seamlessly integrated into cervical cancer diagnosis centers, accessible through smartphone applications, with minimal resource demands. The resulting insights provide a foundation for advancing cancer prevention methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trunk postural control differs between individuals with and without chronic low back pain (LBP). Whether this corresponds to differences in hip/spine coordination during the early acute phase of LBP (ALBP) is unclear. To compare hip/spine coordination in relation to seat movements between individuals with and without ALBP when balancing on an unstable seat and to identify coordination strategies to maintain balance using cluster analysis. Cross-sectional observational study. ALBP (n=130) and pain-free (n=72) individuals. Frequency domain measures to evaluate hip/spine coordination (amplitude spectrum, phase angle, and coherence) and time-series measures to assess overall balance performance (center of pressure [CoP] reflecting the amount of seat movements, upper thorax motion as a surrogate for head motion). Participants maintained balance while sitting on a seat fixed to a hemisphere. Seat, hip, and spine (lower lumbar, lumbar, upper lumbar, and thoracic) angular motion and force plate data were recorded. Overall, seat/CoP movements (amplitude spectrum and RMS displacement) were greater (in both planes) and sagittal coordination (coherence) between the hip or lower spine and seat movements was lower in ALBP than controls. Cluster analysis using coherence data revealed different coordination strategies to maintain balance. Separate clusters used a " lower lumbar strategy " and " hip strategy " in the sagittal plane, and a " lower and upper lumbar strategy " and " lower lumbar strategy " in the frontal plane. A cluster using a " low coherence strategy " in both planes was also identified. Hip and lower spine coordination was less in individuals with ALBP in conjunction with a lower quality of overall balance performance. However, interpretation of the relationship between coherence and overall balance performance was not straightforward. Clusters in both the ALBP group and the control group adopted a low coherence strategy, and this was not consistently related to poor overall balance performance. This suggests overall balance performance cannot be inferred from coherence alone and requires consideration of interaction of other different features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Exertional heat stress can cause damage to the intestinal epithelium and disrupt gastrointestinal barrier integrity, leading to microbial translocation (MT) linked to the development of heat stroke. This study aimed to assess age-related differences in markers of intestinal epithelial injury and MT following non-heat stress and high-heat stress exercise in healthy young and older men. Methods: Markers of intestinal epithelial injury (intestinal fatty acid-binding protein—'IFABP') and MT (soluble cluster of differentiation 14—'sCD14'; and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein—'LBP') were assessed in healthy young (18–30 y, n = 13) and older (50–70 y) men (n = 12). Blood samples were collected before, after 180 min of moderate-intensity (metabolic rate: 200 W/m2) walking and following 60 min recovery in either a non-heat stress [temperate: 21.9 °C, 35% relative humidity (RH)] or high-heat stress (hot: 41.4 °C, 35% RH) environment. Results: There were no differences in IFABP and sCD14 between the young and older groups in the temperate condition, while LBP was greater in the older group (+ 0.66 ug/mL; + 0.08 to + 1.24 ug/mL). In the hot condition, the older group experienced greater increases in IFABP compared to the young group (+ 712 pg/mL/hr; + 269 to + 1154 pg/mL/hr). However, there were no clear between-group differences for sCD14 (+ 0.24 ug/mL/hr, − 0.22 to + 0.70 ug/mL/hr) or LBP (+ 0.86 ug/mL/hr, − 0.73 to + 2.46 ug/mL/hr). Conclusion: While older men may experience greater intestinal epithelial injury following exercise in the heat; this did not lead to a greater magnitude of microbial translocation relative to their younger counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Irregular fuzzy mapping is used for encryption and scrambling of image information in this paper. The proposed image encryption algorithm has many characteristics including large key space, few relationships between the pixels of the encrypted image, high sensitivity to the key and high security, which can effectively protect the security of the encrypted image. Therefore, a robust audio watermarking method that hides encrypted image information in the time domain is presented. After dividing the audio signal into consecutive parts, five parameters are calculated independently, including the average frequency, edge, energy, zero crossing rate, and standard deviation for different parts of the signal. With the LBP method, the encoded image is placed in different parts based on the weights determined by the fuzzy system defined on the five parameters for each part of the audio signal. Consequently, the distortion caused by hiding the watermark will not result in adverse listening effects, and the watermark will remain resistant to attacks and common audio processing. Based on the simulation results of the proposed technique under MATLAB software, it reveals the resistance of the watermark against various attacks and increasing the speed of calculations. Due to the combination of watermarking and simultaneous encoding of image information, as well as examining a large number of image evaluation criteria, including information entropy criteria and peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), number of pixel change rate (NPCR), unified average changing intensity (UACI), we have been able to create a good improvement for the security of information transmission in the IoMT field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narrative abstract: Studies from around the world on the back pain pandemic agree the medical model consists of 'outdated models of care' based on 'widespread misconceptions'. However, primary care physicians and spine surgeons have ignored the call for a paradigm shift to conservative (nondrug, nonsurgical) care popularised by Chiropractors that has gained support from spine specialists and researchers including the legendary Alf Nachemson, the god father of medical spine research and journalism. Traditional medical practice led to the prescription opioid painkillers crisis and the tsunami of failed back surgeries. The current worldwide clinical disaster in spine care begins as this author contends with the initial misdiagnosis as 'nonspecific' primary pain, which is unsupported in research and is seen by this author as an admission of their educational and clinical ineptness in spine care that continues as a major scam upon the public. Undeniably 'bad disks' seen on x-rays and MRI scans have been used as effective selling points to gullible patients that have greatly increased the number of unnecessary surgeries at an enormous cost, waste, and chronic opioid abuse. Many studies confirm the medical model of spine care has been a '20th century disaster' causing widespread 'tragic human wreckage' according to Gordon Waddell. This paper explores the reasons and solutions for this unmitigated medical clinical disaster originating from a Spine Cartel hellbent on profiteering rather than a health profession seeking the 'best practices' in spine care as evidence-based guidelines recommend from around the world and long pursued by Chiropractors despite the ongoing medical war fighting in the most lucrative and wasteful market in American medicine at US$134.5 billion annually, more than cancer, heart disease, or diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) means that the slippery cartilage tissue that covers the bone surfaces in the joints and allows the joint to move easily loses its properties and wears out. Knee OA is the wear and tear of the cartilage in the knee joint. Knee OA is a disease whose incidence increases especially after a certain age. Knee OA is difficult and costly to be detected by specialists using traditional methods and may lead to misdiagnosis. In this study, computer‐aided systems were used to prevent errors in traditional methods of detecting knee OA, shorten the diagnosis time, and accelerate the treatment process. In this study, a hybrid model was developed by using Darknet53, Histogram of Directional Gradients (HOG), Local Binary Model (LBP) methods for feature extraction, and Neighborhood Component Analysis (NCA) for feature selection. Our dataset used in experiments contains 1650 knee joint images and consists of five classes: Normal, Doubtful, Mild, Moderate, and Severe. In the experimental studies performed, the performance of the proposed method was compared with eight different Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) Models. The developed model achieved better performance metrics than the eight different models used in the study and similar studies in the literature. The accuracy value of the developed model is 83.6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual scene recognition is predominantly based on visual textures representing an object's material properties. However, the single material texture varies in scale and illumination angles due to mapping an object's shape. We present a comparative study of the colour histogram, Gabor, opponent Gabor, Local Binary Pattern (LBP), and wide-sense Markovian textural features concerning their sensitivity to simultaneous scale and illumination variations. Due to their application dominance, these textural features are selected from more than 50 published textural features. Markovian features are information preserving, and we demonstrate their superior performance for scale and illumination variable observation conditions over the standard alternative textural features. We bound the scale variation by double size, and illumination variation includes illumination spectra, acquisition devices, and 35 illumination directions spanned above a sample hemisphere. Recognition accuracy is tested on textile patterns from the University of East Anglia and wood veneers from UTIA BTF databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lumbar disc hernia represents one of the most frequent neurosurgical pathologies, consisting of a posterior migration of the nucleus pulposus which protrudes through the surrounding protective connective tissue. The patient usually exhibits leg pain, paraesthesia or a variable degree of discomfort at the lower extremities, those clinical characteristics are correlated to the extent of nucleos pulposus protrusion. Regarding neuroimaging diagnosis, the gold standard of evaluation is Magnetic resonance imaging in different sequences which highlights a precise topography of the herniated disc. Currently, in a well-digitalized era, machine learning and deep learning algorithms are used to assess the sensibility of detecting a lumbar disc hernia, with promising results. In those cases requiring surgical intervention, besides the open lumbar microdiscectomy, a less invasive surgical approach regularly used in the medical practice is endoscopic lumbar discectomy, being limited to cases where a wide intraoperative perspective is not necessary. In the actual neurosurgical management, postoperative complications following lumbar disc hernia surgery are rare and accessible to manage.